


Of Why the Sea is Boiling Hot

by PatchworkDragon



Category: Backstreet Boys, Popslash
Genre: M/M, No plot at all, Or at least bi, Smut, bsb is so gay, gratuitous ogling of naked man, implied offscreen sex with invisible oc, unsafe sunbathing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-08
Updated: 2004-05-08
Packaged: 2019-10-02 15:14:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17266517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatchworkDragon/pseuds/PatchworkDragon
Summary: 15 years later I cannot believe I wrote that cheesy line about giving himself to the sea.  WTF me?On the other hand, still proud of "Wait, why are you closer to Howie's pants than he is?"





	Of Why the Sea is Boiling Hot

AJ was on his third game of cell phone Tetris when he heard a familiar tune. It wasn't coming from the changing room that Howie had disappeared into almost an hour earlier, which meant it must be with the clothes Howie was wearing when they got to the shop. Under the pile of rejected clothing. With a sigh, AJ dug through the pile and finally located the ringing phone. AJ grinned at the name on the screen; just as he had expected. He turned it on. "Sweet D's House of Happiness, how may we pleasure you?"

"AJ? Why are you answering Howie's phone?"

"Well, his pants rang Help Me and I was pretty sure that would be you, so I answered."

"Oh. Wait, why are you closer to Howie's pants than he is?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Because Howie has abandoned both me and his pants. The salesman has lured him off into the far reaches of this fine establishment with promises of never before seen designer fashions." Or maybe a quick blowjob, considering the way the guy was looking at Howie, but Nick didn't need to hear about that. Poor boy probably hadn't gotten laid in months.

"Damn. I need him, he's supposed to be there when I need him." And now Nick was whining.

"Knowing Howie, I'm sure his contract for Nick support has an escape clause for both shopping and getting laid. So either way you're stuck with me. What's the problem? Did big bad Kevin say something mean to little Nicky?" AJ doubted it. Since the divorce went final a month ago, Kevin hadn't been interacting enough with other people to be mean. That was why they'd all gone on vacation together.

"No. I haven't actually gotten close enough to talk to him."

And that got AJ worried. Because although Kevin had not really talked about what was bothering him, he'd been seeking out physical contact, especially with Nick. If he wasn't letting Nick near him now, something was wrong.

"Nick, is Kevin ok?"

"I don't know. But he's sunbathing."

AJ looked at the phone in disbelief. "What?" It was unusual, sure, but worth calling Howie in a panic?

"He's sunbathing "

"So?"

"He's sunbathing naked." Nick sounded like he was about to panic, and AJ was starting to feel the same. He really really wished he could just let Howie handle this. He ducked a bit, looking under the dressing room door, and saw two bare feet. Only one was Howie's, so he would probably not appreciate an interruption at this moment.

So AJ had to deal with this himself. Had to think like Howie, who always gave such good relationship advice. "Um, well, Nick. What are you feeling about all of this?"

"AJ, man. Kevin. Is. Naked. You figure it out, ok?"

AJ laughed at the frustration in Nick's voice. Really, that said it all. As far as he knew no one had ever talked out loud about Nick's crush on Kevin, and Kevin had certainly never encouraged the kid before. In other circumstances this is where AJ would begin making fun of Nick. But Nick and Kevin, that was far too delicate a situation for his usual style.

"Ok, what do we know for sure?" AJ asked as he tried to think like Howie. "Kevin waited until everyone but you left the house. Then he got naked and… is he on the balcony off his room?"

"No, on the beach. Right between the house and the water."

"So right where he knew you would go. Nick, it's an invitation. Your move, man." Howie probably would have a better way of saying that, something metaphorical."

"It's not. AJ, this is Kevin. He's not that subtle. I've seen Kevin when he wants someone."

For a famous sex symbol, Nick had always been clueless about people actually wanting him. He had a point though, AJ had originally learned his own style for picking up women by watching Kevin at work, and it was not a subtle process. But then again, Kevin would never treat any of them like a casual pickup, especially not Nick. That was probably not the right reasoning to share with Nick at this point though, wouldn't want to scare him off. So AJ fell back on the obvious excuse.

"Yeah, but he just got divorced. A breakup like that does a number on your self esteem, believe me." Been there, done that, got the tattoos. He sighed, wishing he was good at this kind of thing. "Look, just do something. He's made his move, now it's your turn. Go talk to him, ask him what's going on in his head."

"It's not that simple, I can't just-"

The dressing room door opened then, and Howie emerged looking very rumpled. There was no sign of the sales clerk who'd been in there with him. AJ laughed, cutting off Nick's whine. "Howie, great pants, why didn't they show me those ones? You should take them, really. But you might want to zip them up. And here, Nick needs advice on what to do with a naked man."

He handed the phone to Howie, who practically purred as he spoke. Oh yeah, definitely more going on in that dressing room than trying on leather pants.

"Nick, Kevin is naked?" Howie's grin did not look particularly helpful. Sure enough, after he listened for a while he said, "On his stomach? If it were me I'd start at the shoulders, just lick him a little and work your way down to the fun parts."

AJ could hear the shout Nick gave, and shook his head as Howie continued. "Or sunscreen, you could offer to help him with the spots he missed." Howie giggled.

OK, that was enough. AJ confiscated the phone and tried to repair the damage. "Sorry, Nick, if I'd known Howie had gone into sex kitten mode I wouldn't have given him the phone." He covered the phone and said "Howie, go get your sales twink and pay for your stuff so we can get out of here. I'm starving." Howie grinned, smoothing his hair a bit as he looked back towards the dressing room.

With a sigh, AJ went back to the phone. If he'd known everyone but him would get lucky this trip, he'd have stayed home. "Nick, just go outside and do something."

Howie leaned in to shout into the phone. "Start a tickle fight! You can get a lot of good gropes in that way."

AJ pushed him away, thinking of all the tickle fights Howie had started over the years in a new light. "Howie, go. Now," he said, then spoke into the phone. "Nick, I'm hanging up. Go touch Kevin."

 

Kevin felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. Months maybe. The most effort he had expended all day was spreading a blanket out in the sand to catch a little sun. Then about an hour later he had turned over. He was thinking that maybe in another ten or twenty minutes he might turn over again, his back was just getting that delicious tight feeling that meant it might turn a bit pink in a little while. And sunburn was not in the plan for this week

Neither was rain, so the drops of water landing his back made him scowl. He propped himself up on his elbows, blinking at the bright sky in confusion. A coolness along his back made him turn his head.

Nick. Leaning over him, grinning as water dripped from his hair and fingertips. Dismissing the interruption with a shake of his head, Kevin relaxed back down onto his blanket. Not even Nick could make him give up his plans to do absolutely nothing all day. No matter how irritating he was.

"Kevin?"

"Yes Nick."

"I'm dripping water on you."

"I noticed."

"Doesn't it irritate you?"

"No."

That seemed to be enough to shut Nick up for a while, and Kevin's mind went blessedly blank again. He ignored the drips, and when they finally disappeared he almost missed the sensation. He sighed. Maybe now would be a good time to turn over. But it seemed like so much effort. He watched a cloud in the corner of his vision, and decided that when it had moved completely into view, then he would turn over.

Just as he was congratulating himself on the decision, he felt another sprinkle of water. Well, he wasn't going to turn over with Nick dripping on him. Make eye contact and that would just encourage the kid.

"Kevin."

"Nick."

"I'm dripping on you again."

"I noticed.

"And you're naked."

Kevin grinned into his blanket. He'd wondered how long it would take Nick to say something.

"You noticed."

"Yeah."

Kevin waited for Nick to say something else, but instead there was a soft sound of shifting sand and Nick was gone. He could feel the water evaporate from his back, and he knew that if he didn't turn over right now, he'd really be burnt. His cloud was gone, anyway.

Slowly, he rolled onto his side, facing the water. No Nick, but there was a trail of footprints in the sand leading between the water and where Kevin lay. A lot of footprints. How many times had Nick walked up to the blanket?

It didn't matter. Kevin was not going to play today, today was for doing nothing. He stretched out on his back, fumbling beside him for his baseball cap. He positioned it carefully to shield himself, there were some parts he just didn't trust sunscreen on. Lying back down, he adjusted his shades and closed his eyes.

 

Nick stood on the porch, watching Kevin turn over. How could did Kevin manage to look more naked with a baseball cap over his groin than he had with his bare ass up? Nick took a deep breath. He'd been going back and forth for nearly an hour, in his head and on the sand, and finally decided to take Howie's advice.

Not the licking advice, tempting though it was. But the tickle thing. Nick figured that if he acted like his normal irritating self, it would push Kevin back into acting normal. Because as much as Nick was admiring the view, he felt unsafe around a naked Kevin. He was going to do something stupid and piss Kevin off, he knew it. Better to do something minorly annoying. Since the dripping thing hadn't worked so far, it was time to step up operation 'annoy Kevin into acting normal'.

Nick walked back to the blanket, as quietly as he could on the sifting sand. When he got there, his resolve wavered a bit. Kevin was laid out like a feast. His skin was shining a little in the bright sun, just beginning to get pink after three days in the sun. His arms were behind his head, and Nick just wanted to touch him everywhere. Except for the hat, which Nick just realized was one Brian had given Kevin, proudly printed with the words Big Daddy Rockstar.

That broke the spell, and Nick leaned over to drip water from his hair. He managed to get Kevin right in the belly button, but even though Nick had intentionally stood in the cold outdoor shower, Kevin only twitched a little. Time for the big guns.

Nick shook his head like a wet dog, flinging cold water everywhere. Suddenly a hand closed around his ankle, and before he could congratulate himself on getting a reaction he was lying on his back in the sand with the wind knocked out of him. He tried to scramble free, but his hands were pinned behind him, and Kevin's weight had him pinned. He twisted to avoid tickling fingers and wound up with a face full of sand. He went limp, forcing himself to remain still as Kevin tickled his sides, and waited for the moment when Kevin let his guard down.

Nick pushed off against the ground, flipping them over and landing with his back on Kevin's chest. He twisted before Kevin could catch his breath, attacking the vulnerable ribs with tickling. Then he made the mistake of looking down.

There was no hat obscuring Kevin now, everything was there, right there, exposed. Right against Nick's leg, he was actually touching Kevin's...

The world spun as Kevin took advantage of Nick's distraction. When he got his bearings, he saw Kevin running towards the water. No way was he escaping that easily. Nick scrambled upright and chased him across the sand. Kevin tripped sprawling across the wet sand, and Nick tripped over him. They were both laughing hard at this point, but Nick managed to get control of the situation. Grabbing Kevin by one ankle and one wrist, he started to spin, lifting Kevin up off the ground. It was hard to hang on as Kevin's limbs flailed, but Nick managed to get up enough momentum to toss Kevin several feet into the ocean.

His triumphant victory dance was rudely interrupted when Kevin yanked his trunks down to his ankles. Nick gaped, open-mouthed. "You didn't," he spluttered.

 

"I did." Kevin waggled his eyebrows, then turned and ran back to the water.

When he looked back over his shoulder, Nick had managed to get his feet tangled in his shorts, and was kicking his way free. Damn, getting Nick naked was not part of the plan. The plan involved lying naked in the sun, and maybe a glass of iced tea. Nothing more, nothing less.

As Kevin dove in, swimming parallel to the shore, he realized he'd made a tactical error. It might be easy to trip Nick on dry land, but in the water he was more than a match for Kevin.

Sure enough, Kevin only managed to swim a few stokes before Nick lunged forward, ducking him under the water. Nick was laughing happily in the sunlight when they surfaced, and somehow he looked impossibly young and untouchable. The game was losing it's fun.

Kevin raised his hands briefly in surrender, then lay back and just floated . They had not been very deep, and he was quickly washed to shore. He lay on his back, head on the sand and legs lifting with every wave. There was something bright to one side of him, and he turned his head to see Nick's discarded shorts just as he felt Nick lay out next to him on the sand.

A part of Kevin was aware, very aware, that they were both naked. That he was almost touching a naked Nick, that he had actually caused Nick to be naked. Things he'd never even let himself imagine. Because by the Nick was old enough to think about, Kevin had been committed to someone else. And though he was no saint, and he'd made a lot of mistakes in his marriage, Nick meant too much to Kevin to let him be a mistake.

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

"We're naked."

"Yep."

Nick raised up on his elbows, leaning over him. Nick was a grown man, mature and no longer off limits. Kevin was free, single and without commitment. But the age difference stretched between them like a canyon, and it was so much easier for Kevin to let his eyes drift shut and lie passive on the sand.

"Kevin." Was Nick going to start every conversation like this from now on? Two could play at that game.

"Nick."

"You're going to burn."

"Sunscreen."

"We've been rolling in the sand and splashing in the water for half an hour. And you do not want to burn anything irreplaceable."

"Doesn't matter." Because no one's interested in an old washed up boy-bander.

Suddenly Nick's weight was over him, cooler than the sun but heavy and oh so there. But the panic was gone, and Kevin lay passively. It was up to Nick now.

"It matters to me. You matter to me." Nick sounded so earnest, and Kevin didn't have the willpower to stop his body from reacting, not with Nick half-hard against him. Not with Nick leaning in to kiss him, no trace of uncertainty in the firm press of his lips. Kevin yielded to Nick's mouth, shifting his legs to let Nick push closer, shifting his hips to bring them into alignment.

"Kevin." Nick sounded like waves crashing on rocks, and Kevin opened his eyes, staring up into blue eyes. With his hair sticking out at random angles, and sand still covering one side of his face, Nick was beautiful. This was his place, the sea was his element, and Kevin felt powerless to resist. Who could deny a sea god in his place of power?

"Nick," he said, letting every confused feeling in him shape that name. "Nick, please."

"Please what, Kevin?" Nick asked, voice as gentle as the waves on their legs. "Please stop? Please don't stop?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Kevin wrapped one of his legs around Nick's, and let himself reach up, arms around Nick's shoulders, pulling him closer. "Please." He whispered into Nick's mouth. And Kevin gave himself over to the sea.

 

Howie led AJ straight through the house to the back porch. He was sure that Nick would not have been able to say anything to Kevin yet, sure enough to have made a bet with AJ. Even though it had been several hours. But there was no sign of either man on the shore.

Or rather there were many signs of their recent presence, but no actual Nick or Kevin. A blanket lay twisted in the sand, Kevin's new baseball cap a short distance away. And more telling, the bright red flash of Nick's swim trunks lay stranded by the receding tide.

Howie sighed. He should know better than to make bets when he was still on an endorphin high. Damn AJ for taking advantage of him in that state. When would he learn not to hook up with AJ around? Something always went wrong, one way or the other.

AJ smirked. "Pay up, Howie. Those pants will look better on me anyway."

"This isn't proof. They could have gotten into a fight or something." Determined to keep his new leather pants, Howie walked back into the house, into the hallway where only the only closed door was the one to Kevin's bedroom. Here he paused, and AJ reached past him towards the doorknob.

Howie stopped him, pushing his hand away with a scowl. AJ raised an eyebrow, and Howie cocked his head towards the door. With a nod, AJ leaned in, pressing his ear to the door. His scowl told Howie he could hear nothing, and when AJ raised his hand to knock at the door, Howie opened it quickly.

AJ stumbled into the room a few steps, and Howie followed. They both took a step back at what they saw.

Nick was kneeling beside Kevin, who lay face down on the bed. They were both naked, and if Howie didn't know them better than most of his own family, if he had just seen a picture of this scene, he would have called it porn. Or fine art even, the way their golden bodies contrasted with the white sheets, the way they looked both natural and posed.

Nick froze when they came in, but continued what he was doing, both hands rubbing Kevin's ass. Howie's fingers itched.

AJ covered his eyes in exaggerated horror. "OK, this is where one of you says 'it's not what it looks like'.

"It is. I'm putting aloe on Kevin's sunburn," Nick replied calmly, his hands gentle on Kevin's very pink skin. "What did you think it looks like?"

AJ raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the rumpled sheets, the sand on the pillows, and the generally debauched men on the bed. Kevin turned, twisting to look at them over one shoulder, and he looked happier than Howie had seen him in months. "I think you've seen enough," he said.

AJ whistled, looking over his shades. "I can't imagine there being anything more we could see."

Kevin grinned, and Howie thought of his cat when she had stolen the fish off his plate. "AJ, obviously you have no imagination."

Nick simply looked smug, and Howie grabbed AJ by the back of his shirt, tugging him towards the door.

"Howie." Nick said, and Howie turned to face him. "Thanks for the advice. You were right about the tickle fight."

Howie blinked, trying to clear his mind of the vision those words inspired. Now AJ had his shirt, and was pulling him towards the door. "Come on D, I want to try on my new pants."

The last thing Howie saw before the door shut was Kevin sitting up to wrap his arms around Nick, and Nick's eyes fluttering shut as their lips met. He sighed. Seeing them like that was worth a pair of pants.

Besides, now he had an excuse to go back to the shop. Howie wondered if the same salesman would be working tomorrow, and smiled. He would not be taking AJ this time.

**Author's Note:**

> 15 years later I cannot believe I wrote that cheesy line about giving himself to the sea. WTF me?
> 
> On the other hand, still proud of "Wait, why are you closer to Howie's pants than he is?"


End file.
